A study that was done in 1977 at the University of Pittsburgh on the instances of hunger in Allegheny County documented 48,000 people experiencing hunger — that is, going without food for a 24-hour period.

That is what gave Joyce the impetus to attend a workshop in Harrisburg on food banking, a concept that was new but creating interest around the country.

According to Joyce, “Food banking is really a warehousing operation, on somewhat on a wholesale level, food is collected from a variety of sources , the food industry, and individual donations.”